Bible

The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011

Gordon Campbell

Marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Version, this accessible yet authoritative history, explains why and how the Authorised Version came into being

Brings to life the controversies surrounding later revisions, helping the reader to understand why and when new editions were issued

Investigates the varied reception of the King James Version across the world, particularly looking at its enduring popularity in America

Lavishly illustrated with reproductions from early editions of the King James Bible and portraits of key players in its history

Appendices contain short biographies of the translators and a guide to the 74 page preliminaries of the 1611 edition

Bible

The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011

Gordon Campbell

Description

Produced during the lifetime of Shakespeare and Donne, the King James Version of the Bible has long been viewed as the most elegantly written and poetic of the many English translations. Now reaching its four hundredth anniversary, it remains one of the most frequently used Bibles in the English-speaking world, especially in America.

Lavishly illustrated with reproductions from early editions of the KJB, Bible: The Story of the King James Version offers a vivid and authoritative history of this renowned translation, ranging from the Bible's inception to the present day. Gordon Campbell, a leading authority on Renaissance literatures, tells the engaging and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, who the translators were, and
how the translation was accomplished. Campbell does not end with the printing of that first edition, but also traces the textual history from 1611 to the establishment of the modern text by Oxford University Press in 1769, shedding light on the subsequent generations who edited and interacted with the text and bringing to life the controversies surrounding later revisions. In addition, the author examines the reception of the King James Version, showing how its popularity has shifted through time and territory, ranging from adulation to deprecation and attracting the attention of a wide variety of adherents. Since the KJB is more widely read in America today than in any other country, Campbell pays particular attention to the history of the KJB in the United States. Finally, the volume
includes appendices that contain short biographies of the translators and a guide to the 74-page preliminaries of the 1611 edition.

A fitting tribute to the enduring popularity of the King James Version, Bible offers an illuminating history of this most esteemed of biblical translations.

Bible

The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011

Gordon Campbell

Table of Contents

Introduction1. The Bible in English2. The Commissioning of the KJV3. Translators and Translating4. The Translation5. The First Edition6. The Seventeenth Century7. The Eighteenth Century8. The Nineteenth Century9. The Bible in America10. The Cambridge Paragraph Bibles11. The Revised Version12. The Early Twentieth Century13. The KJV in the Modern WorldAppendix 1: The Companies and Later RevisersAppendix 2: The Preliminaries to the KJVFurther ReadingIndex

Bible

The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011

Gordon Campbell

Author Information

Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Leicester University. An authority on Renaissance literature, he is the co-author of John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought (with Thomas N. Corns).

Bible

The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011

Gordon Campbell

Reviews and Awards

Gordon Campbell's BIBLE received a review in the August 2011 issue of CHOICE, where the reviewer said,

". . . an informative, compelling, biography for both scholars and general readers of the premierer English Bible. . . Highly Recommended."--Choice

"Valuable and enlightening."--Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology